Participatory Practice in Space, Place, and Service Design

Questions of Access, Engagement and Creative Experience

Edited by Kelly L. Anderson, Monash University

'Participatory Practice in Space, Place, and Service Design' is premised on a belief in the importance of participatory practices in finding creative solutions to the plethora of problems we face today. It argues that engaging professions with the public in mutual exploration, analysis, and creative thinking is essential. It not only ensures better quality products, places, services, and a greater sense of civic agency but also facilitates fuller access to them and the life opportunities they can unleash. This book offers a uniquely varied perspective of the myriad ways in which participatory practices operate across disciplines and how they impact the worlds and communities we create and inhabit. This book suggests that participatory practices are multi-disciplinary and relevant in fields as diverse as design, architecture, education, health care, sustainability, and community activism, to name a few of those discussed here. How do designed objects and environments affect wellness, creativity, learning, and a sense of belonging? How do products and services affect everyday experience and attitudes towards issues such as sustainability? How does giving people a creative voice in their own education, services, and built environments open up their potential and strengthen identity and civic agency? Addressing these questions requires a rethinking of relations between people, objects, and environments; it demands attention to space, place, and services.

Ephemeral Coast: Visualizing Coastal Climate Change

Edited by Celina Jeffery, University of Ottawa

'Ephemeral Coast: Visualizing Coastal Climate Change' considers the ways that art can offer a means through which to discover, analyze, re-imagine and re-frame emotive discourses about the ecological and cultural transformations of the coastline. This edited anthology takes ephemerality as its central conceptual and methodological framework and presents a series of essays that create interconnections between environmental and social considerations of the coast, a succession of embodied creative practices, and shifting regional geographic identities. The book presents a series of specific case studies of artistic practices and strategies that seek to capture the rewriting of cartographic maps that are being reshaped by rising seas, coastal flooding and catastrophic weather. The essays in this edited volume engender creative strategies for understanding new and uncertain coastal ecologies and the loss, expulsion or destruction of their associated cultures, habitats, species and ecosystems. The anthology also looks at the historical, mnemonic and contemporary transitional conditions of ‘conflicted’ coastal spaces in which empire, modernity and globalization press on coastal erosion and incursions, proliferate it with trivial plastics, pollution and disposable attitudes, and bring vulnerable communities into uncertain futures.

Ephemeral Coast: Visualizing Coastal Climate Change

Edited by Celina Jeffery, University of Ottawa

'Ephemeral Coast: Visualizing Coastal Climate Change' considers the ways that art can offer a means through which to discover, analyze, re-imagine and re-frame emotive discourses about the ecological and cultural transformations of the coastline. This edited anthology takes ephemerality as its central conceptual and methodological framework and presents a series of essays that create interconnections between environmental and social considerations of the coast, a succession of embodied creative practices, and shifting regional geographic identities. The book presents a series of specific case studies of artistic practices and strategies that seek to capture the rewriting of cartographic maps that are being reshaped by rising seas, coastal flooding and catastrophic weather. The essays in this edited volume engender creative strategies for understanding new and uncertain coastal ecologies and the loss, expulsion or destruction of their associated cultures, habitats, species and ecosystems. The anthology also looks at the historical, mnemonic and contemporary transitional conditions of ‘conflicted’ coastal spaces in which empire, modernity and globalization press on coastal erosion and incursions, proliferate it with trivial plastics, pollution and disposable attitudes, and bring vulnerable communities into uncertain futures.

The Rise of Awards in Architecture

Edited by Jean-Pierre Chupin, Université de Montréal et al.

This book is the first scientific study to focus on awards in architecture and the built environment investigating their exponential growth since the 1980s. The celebration of excellence in architecture and related fields remains a phenomenon on which there is strangely little scientific scrutiny. What is to be understood from the plethora of award-winning projects, award-winning buildings and awarded professional practices in the built environment, year after year? Glossy images partake in an intense ballet at every local, regional, national or international award ceremony and they are meant to embody proofs of architectural excellence. However, it is necessary to take a critical distance to question what awards are meant to embody, symbolize, and perhaps measure. Each of the 10 chapters in this volume is centered on one question related to themes as varied as the comparison of Pritzker and Nobel Prizes, the Prix de Rome, the redefinition of quality through awards, green awards and sustainability, the multiplication of sustainable awards, heritage awards, architecture book awards, the awarding of school architecture, awards as mediations and awards as pedagogical devices. Many fields, once consolidated, have featured a sharp increase in related prizes. The original data, compiled and summarized in 4 appendices cover more than 150 award-granting organizations in some 30 countries. Our inventory includes upwards of 24,000 prizes awarded at more than 3,100 events, the earliest of which is the first instance of Western architecture’s seminal Grand Prix de Rome in France in 1720. A history of contemporary architecture is thus written through press releases that praise the merits of the heroes as much as their works and achievements. And while awards can be vehicles that propel architecture forward, they can also be Trojan horses in an era that is constantly on the lookout for event-driven products, small and big news, and brand imaging.

Arquitectura Sostenible: Entre Medición y Significado

Edited by Carmela Cucuzzella, Concordia University and Sherif Goubran, The American University in Cairo, Egypt

Cada día, nuevos artículos, libros e informes presentan nuevos métodos, estándares y tecnologías para lograr la sostenibilidad en arquitectura. Además, los nuevos materiales, dispositivos tecnológicos y datos se consideran cada vez más los elementos básicos del futuro de la arquitectura. A medida que adoptamos cada vez más este avance tecnológico, debemos ser igualmente conscientes de que podemos estar empujando la arquitectura hacia una ciencia administrativa y alejándonos de sus preocupaciones centrales, como la expresión, la contextualidad, la funcionalidad y la estética. La arquitectura sostenible que se centra en las medidas abstractas de consumo, energía y emisiones pierde de vista el papel vital que tiene la arquitectura en nuestro mundo: es el campo que crea nuestros espacios públicos y nuestros lugares de vivienda, de negocio, de producción, del ocio y la creación. Además, no comprende la dimensión humana de los edificios, como elementos que están profundamente conectados con los contextos históricos de sus lugares, y que juegan un papel clave en la definición de nuestras relaciones sociales y nuestra conexión con los espacios que ocupamos y utilizamos. 'Arquitectura Sostenible: Entre Medición y Significado' da un paso atrás para reflexionar sobre cómo la sostenibilidad en el entorno construido puede teorizarse y practicarse críticamente. Este libro expone que la arquitectura sigue siendo una ciencia humana y social que se encuentra en la intersección de medidas y significados. Revela que la arquitectura sostenible todavía puede operar en un espacio dialéctico de expresión, en lugar de servir como un manifiesto de los extremos técnicos o socioculturales. Pretende que la intuición, los sentidos y las habilidades humanas todavía tienen la clave para desentrañar futuros alternativos de espacios construidos sostenibles. Y lo más importante es que los humanos todavía tienen un lugar en la arquitectura sostenible. Este libro será de interés para estudiantes, académicos que inician su carrera, investigadores establecidos y profesionales que estudian la sostenibilidad en el entorno construido. Puede usarse como referencia para aquellos en los campos del diseño, arquitectura, paisaje y diseño urbano, estudios urbanos, geografía, ciencias sociales e ingeniería.

Rewriting Resistance: Caste and Gender in Indian Literature

Edited by Rakibul Islam, Aligarh Muslim University Centre at Jangipur Murshidabad, West Bengal, India and Jakir Hossain, Chitta Mahato Memorial College,Purulia, West Bengal, India

‘Rewriting Resistance: Caste and Gender in Indian Literature’ explores the claustrophobic shadow of discrimination hanging over Indian women and lower caste people from ancient times. It examines how different literary figures paint a vivid and descriptive picture of the physical and psychological oppression faced throughout India. The book traces feminist resistance, subaltern resistance, and resistance during the anti-colonial struggle, with the literary outputs discussed working as socio-political activity against dominant ideologies. The volume further talks about the responsibility, not only of those oppressed, but also of us as human beings, to speak out against the violation of human rights and for justice. So, the book focuses on the literary writers who always dream of a better India where all people, regardless of their caste, class and gender, can live and breathe freely. The book is divided into three parts. Part I describes the plight of women, their commodification and the politics around them, and how they fight hard to regain their faded identity. Part II depicts the interesting findings on gender-caste intersections and discrimination. Part III explores the struggle of the low caste, specifically male members of Dalit community, along with their history. It further portrays how orthodoxy in rituals creates the burden of traditional and existential crises. ‘Rewriting Resistance: Caste and Gender in Indian Literature’ re-visits Indian literary texts in terms of what they reveal about the resistance registered through the suffering of human beings (women and Dalits) at the hands of fellow human beings, and further links the discussion to our contemporary situation. The book has a unique quality in that it is not only a detailed study of select Indian English texts, but also delves into an in-depth analysis of texts from Bengali, Urdu, and Hindi literature. The work is likely to affect and appeal to students, scholars and academics, and can be adopted for classroom teaching and research purposes as well.

As political soldiers we face Moscow’s hordes: Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS

Evertjan van Roekel

During the Second World War, approximately 25,000 Dutchmen served within the ranks of the military branch of the German SS: the Waffen-SS. They volunteered to fight to secure the victory of Nazi Germany. These Dutch volunteers fought mainly on the Eastern Front, and to a lesser extent, within their own national borders. After the war, the Allied victors regarded them as part of a criminal organization and jointly responsible for the atrocious transgressions of the Nazi regime. In the Netherlands, these men were reviled, branded as traitors and became pariahs in their own country. Those who had devoted themselves to the Nazi regime caused so much grief to the Netherlands that they had to be held accountable. Despite their military achievements, their reputation was damaged forever. The Netherlands supplied the largest contingent of SS soldiers from the occupied North-western European territories. Who were these people? What led them to enlist, and what were the consequences of their choice? An important part of this study involves the autobiographical texts of nineteen Dutch volunteers in the Waffen-SS. These ego-documents recount their own immediate experiences and are mainly fragments from diaries, but there are also letters, individual notes, and memoirs. The ego-documents are placed within the larger historical context to provide an answer to the question of whether these men were only ideologically motivated and unconditional Nazi sympathizers, and for this, their criminal records are also researched. Among other topics, the book discusses their choice to enlist, their experiences at the front, and their involvement in genocide, providing a new perspective on the Eastern Front.

Green Crimes and International Criminal Law

Edited by Regina M. Paulose

‘Green Crimes and International Criminal Law’ examines crimes against the environment, which impact not only humans, but also wildlife and ecosystems more generally. A significant point of discussion in the volume is whether green crimes can fit effectively into existing international criminal law frameworks or not. Chapter authors explore these crimes from both a definitional and theoretical perspective and in various contexts in different parts of the world, questioning whether these violations have led to or are violations of international criminal law. While the recognition of green crimes in the international criminal law community has been slow, it has increasingly gained widespread attention. This volume acknowledges the growing interest and seeks to promote debate among academics and professionals working on the subject. The aim of these texts is to encourage meaningful action around green crimes within the international criminal law community so that environmental justice can become established. The collection will be of particular interest to practicing attorneys and academics studying international criminal law, especially those keen on investigating how green crimes can be incorporated into the specific canon of international law.

118 Theories of Design(ing)

Edited by Paul A. Rodgers, University of Strathclyde, UK and Craig Bremner, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Theories normally seek to explain something. 118 Theories of Design[ing] asks us to question those explanations. By focusing on a broad range of somewhat overlooked and undervalued essays, papers, book articles, words, terms, authors and phenomena that swirl around design[ing], the reader is encouraged to read, reflect and question everything. This original book will appeal to a global market of university faculty heads and deans, museum directors, design educators, design researchers, key design practitioners, publishers, members of the design media, and undergraduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral students of design.

Postmodern Traces and Recent Hindi Novels

Veronica Ghirardi, University of Turin, Italy

Postmodernism is a notoriously elusive concept and still the object of critical debates among scholars across a range of different disciplines. In literature, in particular, these debates are complicated by “postmodern” styles emanating from outside the concept’s Western origins. By analyzing contemporary Hindi novels, and drawing on both Western and Hindi literary criticism, "Postmodern Traces and Recent Hindi Novels" aims to understand some of the manifestations of postmodernism in contemporary Hindi fiction, including ways the latter might challenge the traditional parameters of postmodern literature. This book is essential reading for scholars and students specializing in South Asian studies and both postcolonial and comparative literature. It will also interest the general reader curious to know more about one of the less explored areas of world literature.

Sustainable Architecture – Between Measurement and Meaning

Edited by Carmela Cucuzzella, Concordia University and Sherif Goubran, The American University in Cairo, Egypt

Each day new articles, books, and reports present new methods, standards, and technologies for achieving sustainability in architecture. Additionally, new materials, technological gadgets, and data are increasingly considered the staples of architecture’s future. As we increasingly embrace this techno-advancement, we must be equally aware that we may be pushing architecture into a managerial science and away from its core concerns such as expression, contextuality, functionality and aesthetics. Sustainable architecture that is focused on the abstract measurements of consumption, energy, and emissions loses sight of the vital role that architecture holds in our world: it is the field that creates our public spaces and our places of dwelling, of business, of production, of leisure, and creation. Additionally, it fails to comprehend the human dimension of buildings, as elements that are deeply connected to their sites’ historic contexts and that play a key role in defining our social relations and our connection to the spaces we occupy and utilize. “Sustainable Architecture – Between Measurement and Meaning” takes a step back to reflect on how sustainability in the built environment can be theorized and practiced critically. This book exposes that architecture remains a human and social science that lies at the intersection of measurements and meanings. It reveals that sustainable architecture can still operate in a dialectic space of expression, rather than serving as a manifesto for either the technical or socio-cultural extremes. It purports that the human intuition, senses, and skills still holds the key to unravelling alternative futures of sustainable built spaces. And that most importantly, humans still have a place in sustainable architecture. This book will be of interest to students, early career scholars, established researchers and practitioners studying sustainability in the built environment. It can be used as a referencee to those in the fields of design, architecture, landscape and urban design, urban studies, geography, social sciences, and engineering.

Visualizando el Cambio: Humanidades Ambientales / Envisioning Change: Environmental Humanities

Edited by Alejandro Rivero-Vadillo, University of Alcalá, Spain; Instituto Franklin, Spain and Carmen Flys-Junquera, University of Alcalá, Spain; Instituto Franklin, Spain

The 21st century has been described by many environmental scholars as the one in which humanity will need to face its greatest challenge. The diverse ramifications of the climatic crisis are perhaps the most evident proof of this. This dual-lingual multiauthor volume reflects different perspectives of envisioning an eco-social change towards a more sustainable and just society. Musings on the philosophical implications of utopias, ecofeminism, biopolitics, and biomimicry come together with photography and participatory documentaries. "Envisioning Change: Environmental Humanities" opens with an essay from one of Spain’s foremost essayists on environmental philosophy, Jorge Riechmann. Literary analyses run from classic myths to oral traditions, including references to frequently neglected traditions such as Bhutan or Croatia, in addition to Spain and the United Kingdom. Rather than emulate theoretical and overarching studies, as several of the recent books on environmental humanities, this volume has many original features, including the abundant references to myths and chapters on eco-translation. This volume reflects a wide variety of approaches and particularly highlights the search of younger scholars for new approaches to envision a better world. It would hold appeal for scholars, researchers and teachers interested in the environmental humanities from either a philosophical, literary or artistic perspective. Moreover, environmentalists, activists, artists, and local politicians may also be interested in how the humanities can contribute to the wider environmental cause. El siglo XXI ha sido descrito por muchos académicos medioambientales como el siglo en el que la humanidad tendrá que enfrentarse a su mayor reto, y la prueba más evidente quizás sean las ramificaciones de la crisis climática. Esta colección bilingüe refleja perspectivas diferentes de visualizar un cambio eco-social hacia una sociedad más justa y sostenible. Reflexiones sobre las inferencias filosóficas de las utopías, el ecofeminismo, la biopolítica y la biomímesis se juntan con fotografía y documentales participativos. “Visualizando el cambio: Humanidades ambientales” comienza con un texto escrito por uno los ensayistas sobre filosofía ambiental más importantes de España, Jorge Reichmann. Los análisis literarios van desde mitos clásicos a tradiciones orales, incluyendo referencias a tradiciones frecuentemente olvidadas como las de Bután o Croacia. En lugar de imitar estudios teóricos y globales como han hecho libros recientes que versan sobre humanidades ambientales, esta colección tiene varias características originales, que comprenden abundantes referencias a mitos y capítulos sobre eco-traducción. Esta colección refleja una amplia variedad de enfoques; destaca la búsqueda de nuevas perspectivas para visualizar un mundo mejor por jóvenes académicos, y será de interés para académicos, investigadores y profesores interesados en las humanidades ambientales desde puntos de vista filosóficos, literarios o artísticos. Además, ecologistas, activistas, artistas y políticos locales pueden encontrar información sobre cómo las humanidades pueden contribuir a la causa medioambiental.

Feeling the heat: International perspectives on the prevention of wildfire ignition

Janet Stanley, University of Melbourne et al.

| Altamente recomendado por CHOICE, julio de 2021 Vol. 58 No. 11 En el contexto del cambio climático, el crecimiento de la población mundial y el colapso de los sistemas ecológicos, los incendios forestales suelen ser un acontecimiento catastrófico y traumático. Su impacto puede incluir la pérdida de vidas, lesiones que cambian la vida, estrés psicológico a largo plazo; aumento de la violencia doméstica; destrucción de propiedades, negocios y ganado; inseguridad en la vivienda a largo plazo; aumento de las primas de seguros, de los costes de extinción de incendios, legales y sanitarios; así como cambios significativos y pérdidas de especies en el entorno natural. “Sintiendo el calor: Perspectivas internacionales sobre la prevención de la ignición de incendios forestales” es la culminación de más de una década de investigación sobre los incendios forestales y provocados, y adopta un enfoque interdisciplinar para comprender el tema de forma exhaustiva. Este libro revisa los conocimientos internacionales actuales y presenta nuevos hallazgos sobre los factores de riesgo políticos, espaciales, psicológicos, socioecológicos y socioeconómicos. En él se argumenta que si queremos invertir la tendencia al aumento de la incidencia y la gravedad de los incendios forestales, hay que utilizar todos los enfoques de prevención, ampliando la dependencia de la modificación del medio ambiente. Tales medidas de prevención van desde la importancia crítica de reducir los gases de efecto invernadero hasta el tratamiento de los factores psicológicos y socioeconómicos que provocan los incendios. En particular, se aboga por un enfoque coordinado y colaborativo entre sectores, que incluya la coordinación a nivel local, estatal y nacional, así como un organismo internacional. La obra resultará de interés para investigadores y estudiantes de distintas disciplinas e intereses, planificadores y responsables políticos, servicios de emergencia, asesores y organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG), así como para el sector agrícola y forestal.

New Asian Approaches to Africa: Rivalries and Collaborations

Edited by Takuo Iwata, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

| Winner of the The Japan Consortium for Area Studies' 2021 Research Project Award | The 21st century has seen an increase in the presence and influence of Asian governments, firms and other stake-holders in Africa. With the changing times, changes in approaches to Africa by four major Asian countries (China, India, Japan and South Korea) have taken place. By tracing the history between these Asian countries and African countries, this collection reflects on the “new” phases of Asian Approaches to Africa. Composed by authors who are not only experienced expert scholars of African Studies, but also prominent specialists on African policies of Asian countries, this collection focuses on the official development assistance (ODA) as well as other crucial issues and actors such as business, civil society, and media to explore the new Asian approaches to Africa in a comprehensive manner. Organised into three sections, this collection explores the experiences of the “forums” (conferences, or summits) for Africa’s development hosted by four major Asian countries, reflects on Asian cultural influence in Africa, and highlights new phases of Asian approaches to Africa. This book looks to the future collaboration of Asian actors/ partners working in/ with Africa, rather than exaggerating rivalries and disputes in order to grasp the potentialities and challenges in the relationship between the two regions; an emerging and ongoing agenda that we will encounter further in the coming years. This book will be of interest to students, researchers and professors in universities, as well as research institutes on Asian and African Studies. It will also be of value to journalists, and government officials; particularly diplomats.

Love is Green: Compassion as responsibility in the ecological emergency

Lucy Weir

This book links three themes, non-dualistic agency, ‘the good’ of systems, and compassionate attunement, and relates them to the ecological emergency. The author begins by examining how we currently understand our ability to choose what we do, our agency and conclude that this is dualistic: we think of an action to do, and then we physically act. Yet an understanding that we are enmeshed in context means our capacity to act freely dissolves in the mesh. We evolved capacities for consciousness and awareness, capacities that allow us to realise that we are here, now but that do not inevitably imply choice. Our capacity for ‘realisation’ gives us the ability to elicit an emotional response. When we understand our enmeshment, we can attune to a deep compassion for ourselves and indeed for all systems unfolding through time. Compassionate attunement allows a different set of options for action to become available to us. This then shifts how we respond to ourselves, our human relationships and to the ecological emergency we are currently embroiled in. This work is inspired by the great Kamakura Zen Master Eihei Dōgen. The book’s contribution is to extend and link the notion of practice-realisation with the literature on evolutionary biology and entropy maximisation which allows us to speak of ‘the good’ of systems. Systems unfold as ‘good’ for us when biodiversity maximisation occurs. By considering the ecological emergency in light of compassionate attunement, we open ourselves to a new array of possibilities for action. Some of these the author outlines in the conclusion, relating them to existing literature on compassionate achievement and compassionate communication, to show how our this practice shifts our relationship to ourselves, to one another, and to the ecological emergency, thus changing the course of human history.

Going Real: The Value of Design in the Era of PostCapitalism

Giovanni Innella, Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, Japan and Marco Petroni

In the age of post-capitalism, what is the value of design? Is value defined by economic potential? Or is it something far less tangible? Now more than ever design has the ability to engage us in economic, political and cultural debate, to actively resist the monotony of daily life, and to counteract the precarious situation on which modern society seems to rest. Positioning itself as a lens through which to view the world, design allows us, and in some cases, even forces us to reflect on the many aspects of the societies in which we live. Divided into three chapters, GOING REAL positions itself in relation to the works of Marc Jongen, Maurizio Lazzarato, Adam Greenfield and Tiziana Terranova, among others. However, unlike the abovementioned authors, this book draws on the works of selected designers and artists to reflect on the economic, political and cultural aspects of our post-capitalist societies. Beginning with an in-depth case study of Detroit during the downfall of the industrial era, this volume moves on to a timely and provocative insight into the human crises surrounding current migration trends with a particular focus on Calais. Finally, in the third chapter, the human body itself is laid bare as the authors analyse how and why the most personal of ‘spaces’ became not only the ultimate marketplace for businesses but also an object of control for governments.

Strategic Climate Change Communications

Effective Approaches to Fighting Climate Denial

Edited by Jasper Colin Fessmann, West Virginia University

For over 30 years the science on climate change has been clear: it is happening, we humans caused it, and it puts all our futures at risk. Global warming can still be reversed, or at least the worst prevented, if we act in time. However, despite valiant efforts by scientists, activists and science reporters, little meaningful change has occurred. This is largely the result of well-funded professional strategic communication efforts by vested interests. They have been highly successful in achieving their central goal: protecting the profitable status quo by creating gridlock to slow down meaningful action on climate change. Strategic Climate Science Communications: Effective Approaches to Fighting Climate Denial analyzes some of the communication strategies employed by deniers and the psychological mechanisms behind how they work. Several experts offer specific counter-strategies to change the conversation and foster meaningful societal change on global warming. The book helps environmental journalists to build up resistance against being manipulated by highly effective public relations techniques often successfully used against them. It can also help scientists and activists to become more effective communicators. An effective strategy is best countered by even better strategy.

Ecologies in Southeast Asian Literatures: Histories, Myths and Societies

Edited by Chi P. Pham, Institute of Literature, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam et al.

Ecocriticism in relation to the Southeast Asian region is relatively new. So far, John Charles Ryan’s Ecocriticism in Southeast Asia is the first book of its kind to focus on the region and its literature to give an ecocritical analysis: that volume compiles analyses of the eco-literatures from most of the Southeast Asian region, providing a broad insight into the ecological concerns of the region as depicted in its literatures and other cultural texts. This edited volume furthers the study of Southeast Asian ecocriticism, focusing specifically on prominent myths and histories and the myriad ways in which they connect to the social fabric of the region. Our book is an original contribution to the expanding field of ecocriticism, as it highlights the mytho-historical basis of many of the region’s literatures and their relationship to the environment. The varied articles in this volume together explore the idea of nature and its relationship with humans. The always problematic questions that surround such explorations, such as “why do we regard nature as ‘external’?” or “how is humankind a continuum with nature?”, emerge throughout the volume either overtly or implicitly. As Pepper (1993) points out, what Karl Marx referenced as ‘first’ or ‘external’ nature gave rise to humankind. But humanity “worked on this ‘first’ nature to produce a ‘second’ nature: the material creations of society plus its institutions, ideas and values.” (Pepper, 108). Thus, our volume constantly negotiates this field of ideas and belief systems, in diverse ways and in various cultures, attempting to relate them to the current ecological predicaments of ASEAN. It will likely prove an invaluable resource for scholars and students of ecocriticism and, more broadly, of Southeast Asian cultures and literatures.

Spoilt for Choice: How senior managers select professional advisors

Wienke Seeger

How do senior executives, such as CEOs and CFOs, interact, select and appoint professional advisors? Based on a successful PhD project, the research in this book explores the interactions between advisors of large professional service firms and senior executive clients on an evidence-based academic level. The research journey and the author’s reflections are charted step-by-step, providing an example of how to analyse unstructured qualitative data, reach theoretical saturation and capture emerging substantive theories. Moreover, by taking a unique holistic and inductive approach, this study offers a series of practical insights on how to combine and apply Kathy Charmaz’ constructivist grounded theory with an auto-ethnographic stance. Divided into eight chapters, the author uses empirical data and rigorous analysis to uncover two distinct decision-making processes, namely (a) the client’s decision to develop and maintain a relationship with the advisor and (b) to select and appoint the advisor for a particular project or services. Mapping these to one common conceptual framework a second complementary model emerges - a type of decision-making matrix with the foci ’competitiveness, skills and merit’, ‘continuity and embeddedness’, ‘control and manage’ and ‘trust and empathy’ - which offers the reader an alternative perspective of client decision-making. This book will be useful for practitioners and researchers alike who have an interest in understanding either naturalistic decision-making processes, the complexities of relationship development and procurement dynamics, as well as applied qualitative research methods.

Spoilt for Choice: How senior managers select professional advisors

Wienke Seeger

How do senior executives, such as CEOs and CFOs, interact, select and appoint professional advisors? Based on a successful PhD project, the research in this book explores the interactions between advisors of large professional service firms and senior executive clients on an evidence-based academic level. The research journey and the author’s reflections are charted step-by-step, providing an example of how to analyse unstructured qualitative data, reach theoretical saturation and capture emerging substantive theories. Moreover, by taking a unique holistic and inductive approach, this study offers a series of practical insights on how to combine and apply Kathy Charmaz’ constructivist grounded theory with an auto-ethnographic stance. Divided into eight chapters, the author uses empirical data and rigorous analysis to uncover two distinct decision-making processes, namely (a) the client’s decision to develop and maintain a relationship with the advisor and (b) to select and appoint the advisor for a particular project or services. Mapping these to one common conceptual framework a second complementary model emerges - a type of decision-making matrix with the foci ’competitiveness, skills and merit’, ‘continuity and embeddedness’, ‘control and manage’ and ‘trust and empathy’ - which offers the reader an alternative perspective of client decision-making. This book will be useful for practitioners and researchers alike who have an interest in understanding either naturalistic decision-making processes, the complexities of relationship development and procurement dynamics, as well as applied qualitative research methods.